The Ron Smith Cup 2016

Ron Smith is an honorary member of ours who had a long career in teaching photography in London before moving into our area to retire. He continued to teach an extremely popular U3A class until ill-health forced him to stop but he can claim to have taught photography for over 60 years. In the 1970s he was awarded the RPS Hood Medal for service to photographic education.

He used to give us a lecture annually and it was the most eagerly anticipated event of the year. His deadpan humour, immense knowledge and once hilarious and then moving anecdotes which peppered his talks had us absolutely transfixed.

Ron donated a cup which he said should be awarded each year to a member displaying ”creativity” in their work. Sadly Ron can no longer attend meetings and it falls to us to decide who should get the award. Our deep respect for Ron makes us take the task very seriously and you can be sure that it is not awarded lightly.

Clearly part of our creativity is innate but it is shaped by our experience too and we felt that nobody can lay more claim to broadening our appreciation of photographic art than Ian McNab, whose enthusiasm for post-modern photography and his lucid explanation of the work of many of its exponents has helped us to understand it, appreciate it and give us more confidence in self-expression.